Web 3.0 : A Web Beyond Words

Though Web 3.0 is most often associated with the Semantic Web, the two are far from synonymous. Countless other concepts are poised to play a role in our online future, and many go beyond semantics, using space, images, and sound.

Web 3.0 : An Introduction

Web 3.0: Tim, Lucy, and The Semantic Web

Web 3.0 :The Other Semantic Web

Web 3.0 :Semantics and Search

Web 3.0 : A Web Beyond Words

Web 3.0 : Tomorrow's Web, Today

Web 3.0 : An Idiot's Guide to Web 3.0

Web 3.0 : Questions of Semantics

Web 3.0 : Look, Ma, No Keywords!

Web 3.0: Versions 4, 5, 6...

Though Web 3.0 is most often associated with the Semantic Web, the two are far from synonymous. Countless other concepts are poised to play a role in our online future, and many go beyond semantics, using space, images, and sound.

One possibility is the so-called 3D Web, a Web you can walk through. Many see this as an extension of the "virtual worlds" popping up on today's Internet. In the future, they say, the Web will be one big alternate universe reminiscent of Second Life and There.com. But others scoff at this notion, claiming it's just a less-efficient version of today's Internet. They see the 3D Web not as an alternate universe but as a re-creation of our existing world. On the 3D Web, you could take a virtual stroll through an unfamiliar neighborhood shopping for houses or visit famous sites you've never seen. Google Earth already offers an experience not far removed from this. "Today, with a service like Google Earth, you can zoom in on Seattle and see how tall the buildings are," says Syracuse University's Lankes. "It really isn't that much of a leap to actually put you, or your avatar, in Seattle and let you walk around."

The trouble is, 3D only goes so far. It doesn't enhance the very 2D world of words, pictures, and video. For many, the more interesting idea is a mediacentric Web, offering not just language-based search but pure media search. Today we depend on keywords even when searching for images, videos, and songs—a woefully inadequate system. Companies like Ojos and Polar Rose are working to reinvent media search, hinting at a world where we search for media with other media—not just keywords (see "Look Ma, No Keywords!" opposite).

Then there's the Pervasive Web, a Web that's everywhere. Today's Web already extends beyond the desktop, to cell phones and handhelds, but it might extend even further—into our everyday surroundings. At the MIT Media Lab, Maes is toying with the idea of Web-connected bathroom mirrors. As you brush your teeth in the morning, there's the latest news. Meanwhile, with his blog, the End of Cyberspace, Alex Soojung-Kim Pang of the Institute for the Future envisions the Web automating much of what goes on in the home. Your windows, for instance, could automatically open when the weather changes. With help from mesh networks—wireless networks consisting of tiny nodes that can route data to and from almost anywhere—the possibilities are nearly endless.